Homebrew Shanghai: Shanghai’s Hardware District

For some time when I lived in China, some friends and I designed and maintained a community web portal for home brewers in Shanghai and China. The site was mentioned in an article in the Wall Street Journal. The site was closed as of June 2014 due to inactivity, and the fact that we had all left China. Below is an article I wrote that I feel still could help homebrewers in China:

So the first stop on our Tour de Homebrew in Shanghai is at the hardware store.

Like so many places in the world, entire neighborhoods are often devoted to the sale certain types of products. Shanghai is no different. The best place to start collecting homebrewing equipment is in the hardware and laboratory supply area in the Huangpu District of Puxi.

Most of the area north of East Nanjing Road (南京东路） to the Suzhou Creek （苏州南路） and west of Henan Road （河南中路）to Xizang Road （西藏路）is an ideal place to buy hardare supplies. There are several hardware malls as well as small shops.

It’s a wide swath of land, we know, but the intersection of Shanxi Nan Lu and Beijing Dong Lu （山西南路／北京东路), which is only a 5-minute walk from the East Nanjing Road Line 2/10 subway station. It’s a great place to start looking a few basic brewing supplies.

We were able to find a hydrometer at a random hardware store for under 20RMB. It hasn’t been tested in the field, but the man at the counter appeared to have several in stock.

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About The Author

John P. Gamboa

John is a Technical Success Manager at WP Engine. Before moving to Austin, John lived in South Korea and China for the better part of four years. His life as an amateur Chinese web censorship expert, traveler, map nerd and beer geek can be found on this site.